Magic Ball

3rd and Up

Cones for general space

Movement awareness

Students need to have a grasp of moving in general space successfully (i.e., not bumping into each other and moving to empty space) before attempting this activity.

Have students pair up (if you have an odd number then a group of 3 will work) and find a good self space in the playing area. When the teacher says go, their job is to walk throughout general space but they have to match their movements exactly. That means their arms, head, and legs need to be doing the exact same thing. They are to move in unison.

After they have "mastered" that make it a little harder. As they move call out the following directions: "back", "forward", "side", and/or "other side". When the students hear those words they are to change the direction they were going and move in the direction. For example, if the teacher called out "back" then the students are to stop their present course and start walking in a backwards direction in unison. "Side" means to go sideways and "other side" means to go sideways in the other direction.

• Add other locomotor movements to make more difficult
• Add a third or fourth person for more of a challenge

Teaching Tips

• Make sure they are moving in unison before you add the other directions
• Sideways is a tough challenge so be careful before moving to that challenge
• Make sure they keep their eyes up so there are no accidents